Apparatus fob



l. HANSON.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING STANDING GRAIN.

APPucATlpN HLE'D Nov. 25. 191s.

Patented May13,1919.

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l. HANSON. APPARATUS FOR TREATING STANDING GRAIN.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. I9I8.

Patented May 13, 1919.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHANNES HANsoN, or ivroNTEvInEo, MINNESOTA.

APPARATUS `non TRATING sTANnING GRAIN.

`Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenteariayis. 1919.

Original application filed July 30, 1917,` Serial No. 183,410. Divided and this application led `1\2Tove1nber 25,

To all whom #may concern: v

Be it known that I, JOHANNES IIANsoN, af citizen of the United States, residing` at Montevideo, in the county of Chippewa and-V State of Minnesota, have invented a certain new and useful Apparatus for Treating Standing Grain, of `which the following is a specification.

This invention relatestowmechanism for the treatment of standing. grain forthe pur# pose of preventing injury theretoby rust, frost, and other injurious causes, and` has for its object `the increasing ofthe amount and `the betterment of the quality of grain produced. This applicationis adivision of i myprior .applicatlom Serial No. 183,410,

iiled JulyBO, 1917, in so far as the subjectmatter of the present application is disclosed in the prior one. i i

.The invention is exemplified in the combination and `arrangement of parts de scribed in the followinggspecication and` illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and it is more `particularly pointed out in the appended claims.`

Figure l is a plan view of a eld of grain being subjected to treatment according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a field of grain of somewhat different shape? and illustrates a somewhat diiierent manner of practising the invention. i L i Fig. Bis a view similarto Fig. 2*,but illustrates a still further modification of the method. i L i i Fig. 4 is aside elevation ,and i Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the apparatus in one embodiment of the invention. i i y Fig. 6 is a detail showing one method of attaching a draftanimal to the part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4. i

Fig. 7 illustrates in detail the method of applying the invention to standing grain.

Fig. 8 shows a runner or traveling support which may beused in `connection with the application ofthe invention shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is anelevational View of a drum `forming a partof one embodiment of the 1918. Serial No.' 264,040.

the production 4of small` grain, `such as wheat, oats, barley, rye, hemp, corn, etc.,-

in the North, by the eects `of early frost.

There are a number of `varieties of rust which affect grain, among which is the black rust, which is principally confined to the heads of the grain, and the red or stem rust which affects a large part .of the stalk or straw.` `The development of rust 1'on the grain varies from year Ato year, depending largely upon weather conditions. happens to be a period of wet weather, accompanied by high temperature at the time that the kernels are forming in the heads of the grain, the crop is liable to be very seriously aifected. The: development of the rust depends very largely upon the moisture which adheres to the head and the stalk of the grain during hot weather. The rain fall itself is not particularly conducive of rust development `since the force of the falling ram prevents. the water from adhering to a greatv extent to the stalks of grain, and tends to washlthestalks clean of thespores of rust. For the same reason rust is not so prevalent in windy` weather. rust development is the formation of dew upon the stalks of grain, which occurs principallyin still weather, and if any dew remains upon the grain on a warm morning until "it dries naturally, the proper conditions are produced for the best development of the rust disease, and if this takes place for two 0r three days in succession, when the grain is in the most susceptible stage, the crop is almost sure to be seriously damaged, if not destroyed, in many instances.` My :invention contemplates the removal of this moisture from the grain, to-

gether withthe developing spores of the rust disease before the rust has time to develop sufficiently to produce injury. In order for such treatment to be effective, it is apparent that it must be carriedout quickly, and for this reason I have devised a means by which a large tract of grain may be treated ina very short time.

` In Fig. 1 I'have represented diagrammatically a field of standing grain, which may be of any size, it being possible to treat easily a quarter section in the manner shown in this ligure. In practising the invention, a rotarydrum, such as is shown at l in Fig. 9

If there The greatest cause of of the drawings, is located in the center of the field, and a flexible cable 2 is given a single turn about the drum, as shown also in Fig. 9. One end of the cable is carried to the boundary of the tract at one corner thereof and secured toa draft-animal shown at 3 in Fig. 1. The other end of the cable is carried to the middle ofV one side of the tract and secured to a second draft-animal 4. The cable is preferably given a slight amount of slack as shown in the drawings. The animals are now driven along the boundary line of the tract in the direction of the arrows,

and as they move forward it is apparent that the cable 2 will move about the drum l to compensate for the change in the distances between thel animals and the drum. While the animal 4is moving farther away from the drum, the animalv 3 will bek drawing nearer sothat the total amount of cable required .will be constant, although the amounts on opposite sides of the drum will vary. At the starting point, shown in full lines in Fig. 1, Vthe amount of cable drawn by the animal 3 will be at its maximum, while the amount drawnby the animal 4 will be at a minimum, but when the animals reach the position shown in broken lines in the figure, the condition will be reversed, and the animal 4 will be drawing a maximum amountl of cable. If the 'field' of grain is a comparatively long narrow one, it may be more economical to hitch a pair of animals to opposite ends of a cable of suiiicient length to reach across the entire width of the eld, as shown in Fig. 2. In this way the entire field is covered by the passage of the animals once along the border. If found desirable the cable may be supported intermediate its length by a trav'- eling support 5, one form of device suitable for this purpose being shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. vIf the iield is too wide for a single length of cable, a plurality of lengths may be used, as shown in Fig. 3, in which ease one or more of the animals must travel through the standing grain. It may be found desirable where a treatment of this kind is contemplated to leave a narrow strip unseeded for this purpose.

A great variety of fo-rms of cable may be used for the purpose of my invention, such as smooth or twisted wire, rope, chains, etc. Agood form of Cable for the purpose is shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, in which the cable proper is designated by the numeral 6, and may be a twisted strand of wire such as is sometimes used for clothes-line wire, or it may be a plain strand, or a rope, or other form of cable. A light rod may also be employed for this purpose. A piece of canvas 7 is doubled about the cable and stitched, as shown at 8 in the drawings, to holdit in place. The depending flaps 9 are slit into strips 10 which forma fringe or wiper for clearing the grain of moisture, the

length of the fringe being varied to suit conditions. It is, of course, understood that such a fringe may be formed in a great variety of ways, the one mentioned heilig shown by way of illustration. Another elfective form of cable is one in which a strip or strips of fabric is twisted together .with the strands of a twisted cable so that the edges of the strips of fabric will extend outwardly from the cable. In some cases it may be desirable to use a simple cover of `pliable, material to prevent the cable from injuring the stalks. Many forms of cable will suggest themselves, and I do not wish to confine myself to any particular form. The end of the strand is preferably attached to the draft-animal by a swivel'hook 11 which may be snapped to the hame or bellyband, or may be secured to the wliiletree. The position of the attachment will depend somewhat upon the manner of carrying out the process and upon the height of the grain. If the animal is drawing the end of a single cable it is preferable to attach the cable to the side of the harness, such as tothe hame, while if the animal is drawing the ends of two cables as shown in Fig. 3, it is better to secure'botli cables to a whiflletree in the manner illustrated in F 6. I prefer to use a swivel hook for this purpose to overcome twisting of the cable.

The runner or support for the middle p0rtions of the cable may be of a variety of forms, one of which is shown in Fig. 8. In this ligure a wheel is shown for supporting the cable 6 intermediate its ends, the cable being' carried by swivel hooks 12 secured to opposite ends of the axle 13 on which the hub 14 of the wheel is journaled. The hub 14 is connected by light spokes 15 with a V- shaped `tread 16. The tension on the cable holds the wheel in its vertical position and the V-shaped tread permits the wheel to pass through the standing g'rain without breakin any appreciable number of stalks. If desred a pair of wheels like the one shown in the gure, but spaced-apart on a common spindle, may be employed, and other forms of runner supports will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

The drum 1 for supporting the middle portion of the cable used on square fields may be of a very simple construction, one form being illustrated in Fig. 9. In this form a laterally extending base 17 is provided with stakes 18, which are driven into the ground to hold the .drum in place, and an upright standard 19, which may be a plain piece of iron pipe, forms the spindle on which the drum 1 is mounted. The drum is supported by a collar 2O adj ustably held in place on the standard 19 by a pin 21. The standard 19 passes through a plate 22 secured to the top of the base 17, and thestandard may be driven to somedistance into the ground. The plate 22 vis vprovided with anchor chains ing openings for the standard will impart a vibration to the drum which will be trans,

mitted to the cable. This vibration will assist in shaking the dew from the grain and throwing the dew thus dislodged away from the heads and stalks.

'Fig 7 illustrates diagrammatically the effect of the cable as it is drawn across a field of standing grain. In this figure the cable 2 is moving in the direction of the arrow 25, and the stalks of grain are bent in the direction in which the cable moves. The cable is supported or -floated upon the bending stalks, and as it passes over them it wipes away the clinging dew. As the cable passes off the stalks of grain in succession, each stalk as it is freed from the cable springs backwardly in the direction of the arrow 26 of the drawing, and thus any moisture which is not removed by the cable itself is thrown from the stalk by its springingreturn movement. In this way the moisture necessary for the development of the rust spores is removed, and not only is the grain freed from the moisture itself, but 'the moisture carries with it the greater portion of the rust spores, and thus the ravages of the disease are prevented. Usually the passage of the cable across the field in a single direction is sufficient, but if it is found after such a treatment thereis still moisture clinging to the grain, the cable may be drawn back across the field in a re` verse direction, and thus assurance may be made doubly sure.

The effect of an early frost upon standing i grain may be overcome by treating the grain in the manner described whenever the temperature comes dangerously7 near the freezing point. The passage of the strand or cable over the grain removes the moisture and frost as it forms on the exterior of the grain while the natural heat of the earth sustains circulation within the stalk, and if the treatment is begun in the early morning and continued until the danger is past, an entire crop may be saved by the small amount of labor necessary to apply the process to the grain.

I claim:

l. The combination with a line, of means secured to the ends of said line for drawing said line across a field of standing grain, and

means for supporting said line intermediate the ends thereof. ,l

2. The combination with a line, of means for drawing said line across a field of standing grain7 and a rotary drum for supporting said line intermediate the ends thereof.

3. The combination with a line, of means attached to the ends of said line for drawing said line across a eld of standing grain, and an 'upright drum about which said line is passed` for supporting said line intermediate the ends thereof.

4C. The combination with a line, of a drum about which said line passes, a spindle for supporting said drum to rotate about an up- `right axis, and means secured to the ends of said line for drawing said line across a field of grain and for moving said line longitudinally relative to said drum.

5. The combination with a line, of a drum about which said line passes, a spindle for supporting said drum to rotate about an upright axis, means for anchoring said spindle to withstand the strains imparted to said drum by said line, means secured to the ends y of said line for drawing said line across a field of standing grain and for moving said line longitudinally relative t0 said drum, and means for vibrating said drum and line when said drum is rotated by said line.

6. The combination with a line having wiping material secured thereto, of means for drawing said line across a eld of standing grain, and means for sup orting said line intermediate the ends thereof).

7. The combination with a line having wiping material secured thereto, of a drum about which said line passes, a standard for supporting said drum forrotation about an upright axis, anchoringmeans for holding said standard against the tension in said line, means for adjusting said drum vertically upon said standard,means for impart ing vibration to said drum and line when said drum is rotated, and means secured to the ends of said line for drawing said line across a field of standing grain and for moving said line longitudinally thereof relative to said drum.

8. The combination with a drum, of a standard for supportingsaid drum for rotation about an upright axis, means for anchoring said standard, a line passing about said drum, and means for attaching a source of motive power to the ends of said line so that said line may be drawn in a transverse direction to said line andwalso longitudinally thereof while supported intermediate its ends by said dru p In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication on this 14th day of November, A. D. 1918.

JOHANNES HANSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenti.

Washington, D. C. 

